Larry Clark (born January 19, 1948) is an American filmmaker, known as one of the leading directors of the L.A. Rebellion (also known as the Los Angeles School of Black Filmmakers). He directed the feature films '' Passing Through'' (1977) and ''Cutting Horse'' (2002). He is also a film professor in the Cinema Department at San Francisco State University.

Biography

A native of

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...

, Clark received a bachelor's degree at

Miami University Miami University (informally Miami of Ohio or simply Miami) is a public university, public research university in Oxford, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1809, it is the second-oldest List of colleges and universities in Ohio, university in Ohi ...

, prior to arriving at

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

, where he majored in film. While a student at UCLA, Clark taught film workshops at the Performing Arts Society of Los Angeles (PASLA), under the guidance of Vantile Whitfield.

Early career

Clark was a cinematographer for 1972's ''

Wattstax ''Wattstax'' was a benefit concert organized by Stax Records to commemorate the seventh anniversary of the 1965 riots in the African-American community of Watts, Los Angeles. The concert took place at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on Augus ...

'' and his recollections of the making of the film are included on a commentary track of the 2004 special-edition DVD of the restored film. Several crew and cast members are on the track, including

Al Bell Al Bell (born Alvertis Isbell; March 15, 1940) is an American record producer, songwriter, and record executive. He is best known as having been an executive and co-owner of Stax Records with Jim Stewart based in Memphis, Tennessee, during the ...

, president of

Stax Records Stax Records is an American record company, originally based in Memphis, Tennessee. Founded in 1957 as Satellite Records, the label changed its name to Stax Records in September 1961. It also shared its operations with sister label Volt Records. ...

and producer of the film, and director

Mel Stuart Mel Stuart (born Stuart Solomon; September 2, 1928 – August 9, 2012) was an American film director and producer who often worked with producer David L. Wolper, at whose production firm he worked for 17 years, before going freelance. E ...

. ''Passing Through'' served as Clark's master's thesis film at UCLA. The film stars Nathaniel Taylor (best known for playing Rollo on the hit television series, ''

Sanford and Son ''Sanford and Son'' is an American sitcom television series that aired on NBC from January 14, 1972, to March 25, 1977. It was based on the British sitcom '' Steptoe and Son'', which initially aired on BBC1 in the United Kingdom from 1962 to ...

'') and veteran actor

Clarence Muse Clarence Muse (October 14, 1889 – October 13, 1979) was an American actor, screenwriter, director, singer, and composer. He was the first African American to appear in a starring role in a major studio film, 1929's '' Hearts in Dixie''. ...

. Clark co-wrote the screenplay with actor

Ted Lange Theodore William Lange III (; born January 5, 1948) is an American actor, director and screenwriter best known for his roles as bartender Isaac Washington in the TV series ''The Love Boat'' (1977–1986) and Junior in ''That's My Mama'' (1974–7 ...

. Matthew Duersten of the ''

LA Weekly ''LA Weekly'' is a free weekly alternative newspaper in Los Angeles, California. The paper covers music, arts, film, theater, culture, and other local news in the Los Angeles area. ''LA Weekly'' was founded in 1978 by Jay Levin (among others), ...

'' described the film as a "potent underground L.A. neorealist treatise" that "is raw, gritty, surreal and, at times, terrifying."

Filmography

* ''Tamu'', 1970, 10 min., Director 16mm * ''As Above So Below'', 1973, Director, 55 min. * ''

'', 1974, Co-Cinematographer, feature documentary * '' Passing Through'', 1977, Director/writer, 104 min., 16mm * ''Cutting Horse'', 2001, Director/writer, 124 min., 35mm

Awards and recognition

* Special Jury Prize,

Locarno International Film Festival The Locarno International Film Festival is a major international film festival, held annually in Locarno, Switzerland. Founded in 1946, the festival screens films in various competitive and non-competitive sections, including feature-length narr ...

* Festival International du Film d’Amiens, France * Cannes International Film Festival (special event) * The Whitney Museum of American Art, New York * Museum of Modern Art, New York City * Brooklyn Academy of Music * Festival of Pan African Cinema (FESPACO), Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso * Moscow Film Festival (information section) * Deauville Film Festival, France * San Francisco Museum of Modern Art * Los Angeles County Art Museum * Pesaro International Film Festival, Pesaro Italy * Festival Internazionale Cinema Giovani, Torino Italy * The Chicago Film Center * Auckland Film Festival, New Zealand * Perth International Film Festival, Australia

References

External links

* *
Cutting Horse
' official movie site {{DEFAULTSORT:Clark, Larry 1948 births Living people Film directors from Ohio English-language film directors L.A. Rebellion Miami University alumni Artists from Cleveland UCLA Film School alumni San Francisco State University faculty 20th-century African-American people 21st-century African-American people Filmmakers from Ohio